English For Today chapter 1: Education and Life

Unit One: Education and Life

Lesson 1

The Parrot's Tale

A. “Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach a person to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” This ancient proverb explains the long lasting effects of education in our lives. Work with a partner. Discuss the following questions with your friend sitting next to you.

a. What, according to you, is the ultimate goal of education? b. Who and what do you associate with education?

B. Here is a short story on education. Read the story and answer the questions that follow.

The Parrot's Tale

Rabindranath Tagore

(Translated by Kaiser Haq)

Figure

Description: A birdcage with a domed top and a metal ring at the apex; a parrot is perched inside on a branch, and the cage stands on a flat tray at the base.

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C. You can listen to an audio version of the story using this QR code :

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Description: A QR code printed to the right of instruction C, for listening to an audio version of the story.

D. Read the following words/phrases taken from the story and write their contextual meanings in your own language in the blank spaces.

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5. dusting, wiping and polishing

6. furnace, bellows and hammer and anvil

7. marked improvement

8. hop

9. cushioned comfort

10. green shoots of early spring

11. What is that I hear?

12. wistful melancholy

E . The following columns have some characters from the story. How would you like to portray them? Use the words in the box. You can also use your own words.

ambitious unrealistic dreamer theorist stupid clever hypocritical over enthusiastic honest brave likes flattery courageous believes in hype go with the flow

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F . Read the texts below defining three types of literary work and decide what type of work “The Parrot’s Tale” is.

Satire: a genre of literature (and sometimes graphic and performing arts) in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement.

Tragedy: a play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character.

Comedy: a kind of literary work that is amusing and satirical or humorous in tone. Generally it has a happy ending.

G . Read the questions below and write short answers.

1. Why did the King comment – “Such a bird is of no use?”
2. What, according to the scholars, was the reason of the bird’s ignorance and what measures were taken to educate it?
3. How did people react to see the bird caged?
4. Who were the ultimate beneficiaries of the parrot training?
5. Who were the King’s real friends? How were they rewarded?
6. How does the story reflect on the theme of education?
7. Do you like the story? Why/Why not?

H . Project work: Work in groups. Suppose you are the pundits who have come to teach the bird, what would you do? Why? Or, Suppose you are the King. What would you do after seeing the bird’s tragic end?

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Lesson 2

Education and Technology

A. Think about the following questions:

1. Do you use the internet or computer while studying?
2. To what extent do you take help from the internet to know about a new study term or word?
3. Do you think digital technology should be incorporated into classrooms?

B. Now read the following article and try to find the answers to the above questions.

[COPYRIGHTED EXCERPT OMITTED: article "AI in The Classroom: Pros, Cons and The Role Of EdTech Companies" by Olufemi Shonubi, printed in the textbook as the Lesson 2 reading passage, beginning here and continuing on page 8]

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[COPYRIGHTED EXCERPT OMITTED: continuation of article "AI in The Classroom: Pros, Cons and The Role Of EdTech Companies" by Olufemi Shonubi, Lesson 2 reading passage, printed in the textbook from page 7]

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The Role of EdTech Companies

Edtech companies play a crucial role in advancing the use of AI in the classroom and ensuring that it is used ethically and responsibly. To do so, they should consider the following:

1. Cost: The cost of developing and implementing AI-powered educational tools can be a significant barrier for schools and teachers. Edtech companies should work to make AI technology accessible to a broader range of schools and teachers and explore alternative funding options, such as grants or partnerships, to help offset the costs.

2. Human interaction: AI-powered educational tools cannot replace the human and emotional support that students need to succeed. Edtech companies should aim to develop AI tools that augment, rather than replace, the role of teachers and provide students with a well-rounded education that includes both personalized learning and human interaction.

3. Privacy and security: Privacy concerns are a significant limitation of AI in the classroom. Edtech companies must ensure that the sensitive personal data collected and stored by AI-powered educational tools are properly secured and that privacy is maintained.

4. Improved AI capabilities: Current AI-powered educational tools have limitations, such as a lack of creativity and originality and a limited understanding of context. Edtech companies should aim to improve AI capabilities and overcome these limitations to create more advanced, innovative and effective AI tools for the classroom.

5. Ethical considerations: Edtech companies should consider the ethical implications of AI technology in education and develop AI tools in a transparent, fair and responsible manner. They must also ensure that they develop and use AI tools in accordance with the laws and regulations governing data privacy, security and intellectual property.

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In conclusion, AI has the potential to be a valuable addition to the classroom. Still, edtech companies should develop AI tools with caution and in collaboration with teachers, educators and students to ensure that they are helpful, ethical and effective in meeting the needs of learners. I believe that AI could revolutionise the way we teach and learn.

C. Write true or false beside the following statements.

1. AI is always beneficial for students and teachers.
2. AI tools can provide personalised learning experiences for students.
3. The cost of implementing AI-based educational tools is not high.
4. Current AI-powered educational tools are full of creativity and originality.
5. AI-powered educational tools can replace the human and emotional support.
6. AI-powered educational tools can provide students with immediate feedback on their work.

D. Write answers to the following questions

1. What sort of repetitive tasks can be done by AI?
2. What advantages do you get in using AI-based educational tools?
3. What disadvantages are there of using AI-based educational tools?
4. Name some of the AI tools that various ed-tech companies have created and their functions?
5. "AI can make a student lazy and not study at all." -Do you agree with this statement? Justify your stance and explain this statement.

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E. Write a one-line gist for each paragraph in the above article and paraphrase in 100 words. Please see the strategies of paraphrasing before completing this task.

F. How to Paraphrase

Paraphrasing refers to restating another piece of writing in new words while retaining the original passage's meaning. Unlike summarizing, in paraphrasing you include roughly the same amount of detail as the original work but adjust the language to demonstrate comprehension or make the text more understandable.

Paraphrasing is essential in academic writing as a way to use other people's ideas in your own work. Mixing in paraphrasing alongside direct quotes works well and can help your paper flow more naturally.

Paraphrasing examples

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Steps to paraphrasing without plagiarising

1. Read the source articles thoroughly.

The first step in rewriting articles is to thoroughly understand the source material. Choose which passages you want to paraphrase. Look closely for points that support the topic you're writing your own paper about.

2. Try rewriting passages by memory.

Rewriting from memory forces you to come up with new ways to say the same message. You can then go back to your notes and the source material to make sure that all of your information is accurate and add anything you forgot.

3. Thoroughly rewrite by changing language and sentence structure.

Use synonyms to replace the essential words of an original passage with other words that mean the same thing, such as using scientist for researcher or seniors for the elderly. This is a common approach to paraphrasing, but it's not sufficient on its own.

• Editing the sentence structure by rearranging the order of certain phrases and clauses or combining or breaking apart sentences is another strategy for paraphrasing.

• Be careful that doing so doesn't cause you to overuse the passive voice.

• Sometimes, you can rephrase a sentence by changing the parts of speech, such as converting a gerund into the operative verb or turning an adjective into an adverb. This strategy depends on the wording of the original passage, so you may not always have the opportunity.

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4. Check that your article rewording is different enough.

After writing a rough draft, review the original source to check that you changed enough. You want to avoid what’s called “patchwriting,” where the paraphrased text is too close to the original and the reader might recognize “patches” of it. This is also a good opportunity to verify that you have included all the correct information.

5. Review your content for accuracy and proofread your prose.

Paraphrasing is a ripe opportunity for introducing errors and inaccuracies. Make sure you haven’t changed the meaning of the original work as you’ve adjusted its style and structure. Then use Grammarly to proofread your content for clarity, conciseness, and grammatical correctness.

6. Add the citations.

Last but not least, be sure to include the citation. Make sure you’re using the correct citation format for your style, whether APA, MLA, or Chicago. If you’re paraphrasing an article, most of the time you will use a parenthetical citation after the passage.

References:

Ellis, M. (2024, April 8). How to paraphrase (Without Plagiarizing a Thing). Grammarly Blog. How to paraphrase (Without Plagiarizing a Thing) | Grammarly

Shonubi, O. (2023, February 21). AI in the classroom: Pros, cons and the role of EdTech Companies. Forbes. AI In The Classroom: Pros, Cons And The Role Of EdTech Companies (forbes.com)

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